sketch

It looks like Hangouts on the web is learning a new trick. Some users are reporting that Hangouts can now sketch a message, drawing with a variety of brush widths and colors on a little scratchpad, which is sent to the user on the other end of the conversation as an image. To sketch, users need only hover over the camera icon, click on the pencil icon that appears, then draw away.

Since their inception, tablets have been seen as a computing form factor conducive to a particular kind of artistic expression: drawing and painting. Of course, accurate sketching can be a little difficult with clumsy fingers, and conductive stylus pens have proven a middling solution, at best. Fortunately, with the advent dual-digitizers capable of supporting pressure-sensitive styli - like those found in Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 - tablets have become a much more practical art tool.

Autodesk has a fantastic record of powerful, well-built apps. Continuing the pattern, the Pixlr Express makers today released SketchBook Ink, a (you guessed it) sketching and line work app specifically built for tablets 7" and above.

While SketchBook Ink is perhaps not up to handling a professional illustrator's full time workflow, it's a versatile tool with functionality that's suprisingly sophisticated for a mobile app. Ink's got a full screen workspace built on a "new resolution independent engine," with seven preset ink styles, a wonderful color picker (with RGB sliders, a color wheel, and a block for shade selection), layering options, and plenty of options to explore.